12 St. Francis Quotes that Will Challenge the Way You Live Your Faith

Though he wrote relatively little in his life, St. Francis’ radical approach to serving those in need and his commitment to nature has continued to have an impact on Christians hundreds of years after his death. The Franciscans remain an influential group within the Church, and the pope himself was so moved by his ministry that he took the name Francis.
Here’s a look at 12 quotes (largely attributed to the friar) that will inspire the way you live your faith.

Contextualization and Interaction Mapping

It was a very memorable “pot luck” luncheon for House of Prayer for All Nations. The church planters had effectively built relationships with their neighbors and about half of the people who arrived through the long morning worship service (or perhaps just for the pot luck at the end) were newcomers to Canada. We were blessed at these worship services to have neighbors encounter the gospel for the very first time. We had to label the three different tables for the buffet: “vegetarian” (for friends from Hindu regions), “halal” (for friends from Islamic countries) and “we don’t know what’s in it” (the eat-at-your-own-risk table). The wide range of food options reflected the diversity of conversations as people ate together.

Why Japanese Kids Can Walk to School Alone

Taking responsibility for shared spaces means that children have pride of ownership and understand in a concrete way the consequences of making a mess, since they’ll have to clean it up themselves. This ethic extends to public space more broadly (one reason Japanese streets are generally so clean). A child out in public knows he can rely on the group to help in an emergency.

The Nursing Home That’s Also a Dorm

Matthew Kaplan, a professor of intergenerational programs and aging at Pennsylvania State University, says these relationships can acquire far more depth than is possible with “the one-shot-only activity, where kids come into the long-term care facility, sing a song and then go home.”
That may be nice, he says, “but it’s not until [the older and younger people] have a real relationship—which takes a lot of interaction—that it becomes meaningful.”

The Surprising Reason We Don’t Tip Flight Attendants

If stewards were so capable and appreciated, why not offer one’s appreciation in cash? The answer is, in short, because tips were for black people. Black porters on trains and boats were tipped as a matter of course but, according to Barry, tipping a white person would have been equivalent to an insult. A journalist, writing in 1902, captured the thinking of the time when he expressed shock and dismay that “any native-born American could consent” to accepting a tip. “Tips go with servility,” he said. Accepting one was equivalent to affirming “I am less than you.” This interpretation of the meaning of a gratuity, alongside airlines’ need to inspire confidence and simple racism, is why we don’t tip flight attendants today.